WOMEN’S HOCKEY: Deering ties game, but Beavers on the brink with loss to OSU

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- For a moment, the Bemidji State women’s hockey team could dream of upsetting No. 1 Ohio State in Columbus, Ohio.

When Makenna Deering scored in the second period of the Beavers’ WCHA quarterfinal matchup with the Buckeyes, BSU tied Friday’s game 1-1. But OSU wouldn’t allow any more scoring after that.

Ohio State scored three straight, winning 4-1 and bringing Bemidji State’s season one loss away from elimination.

Sophie Jaques scored first for the Buckeyes at 1:38 in the first period, giving OSU (29-4-2) an early 1-0 lead. The Beavers (5-29-1) countered at 5:43 the second with Deering’s blast from the left point off assists from Reece Hunt and Paige Anderson.

Jaques wasn’t done, though, and that became BSU’s undoing. She scored again 0.2 seconds before the end of the second period, then finished off the hat trick with a goal at 12:40 in the third. Emma Maltais added an empty-netter at 18:59 to seal the final margin.

Hannah Hogenson saved 41 shots on goal, her third-highest total this season, to keep Bemidji State in it. Amanda Thiele stopped 12 for OSU.

Ohio State leads the quarterfinal series 1-0, and with another win, they will advance to the WCHA Final Faceoff and bring the Beavers’ season to an end. The two teams will match up once more at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 25, back in Columbus.

Ohio State 4, Bemidji State 1

BSU 0 1 0 -- 1

OSU 1 1 2 -- 4

First period -- 1, OSU GOAL, Jaques (Maltais), 1:38.

Second period -- 2, BSU GOAL, Deering (Hunt, Anderson), 5:43; 3, OSU GOAL, Jaques (Maltais, Webster), 20:00.

Third period -- 4, OSU GOAL, Jaques (Levis, Webster), 12:40; 5, OSU GOAL, Maltais (Webster), 18:59, EN.

Saves -- Hogenson (BSU) 41; Thiele (OSU) 12.